MSHA Asks Court to Leave Miner Protection Rules in Limbo
- The U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration has asked the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals to keep in legal limbo a Biden-era rule that would have lowered miners’ permissible silica dust exposure limit from 100 to 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air, and the court granted at least two more months of delay on Aug. 10.
- The rule had been finalized in April 2024 but the Trump administration paused implementation just days before its April 2025 compliance deadline. The 50 micrograms limit was recommended by the National Institute on Occupational Safety and Health in 1974 and is the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s limit for non-mine workers.
- New NIOSH research published Aug. 4 found black lung prevalence among long-tenured coal miners in West Virginia, Kentucky, and Virginia has reached its highest level in 35 years, at roughly 32.5% of workers, driven largely by miners cutting through thinning rock seams and increased silica exposure. The rate of black lung among long-tenured miners outside of central Appalachia is 3.9%.
- United Mine Workers of America President Brian Sanson criticized the continued regulatory delay, arguing that masks alone can’t protect miners from silica dust generated by high-powered mining machinery. He called for the finalized silica rule to be unfrozen and enforced immediately, while industry groups like the West Virginia Coal Association have argued the rule relies too heavily on engineering controls over personal protective equipment.
- Separately, legislation sponsored by U.S. Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.), the Support Our Miners Act (H.R. 9556), would raise the federal black lung disability benefit rate from about $794 to about $1,253 per month to catch up with decades of inflation.
Construction Worker Rescued From Auger Entanglement in Athens Bypass Industrial Accident
- A construction worker became entangled in an auger after falling into an aggregate placer machine during concrete-pouring operations on the Athens Bypass near Atlanta Highway on Aug. 14, according to the Athens-Clarke County Fire Marshal’s Office.
- The Athens-Clarke County Fire Department responded and crews worked for more than an hour to free the worker from the heavy road-building equipment.
- The extraction effort included a medical team of surgeons, nurses, and an anesthesiologist from Piedmont Athens Regional Medical Center.
- The worker’s current condition has not been released.
North Carolina Recognizes Union County With Five Gold Safety Awards
- Union County, North Carolina, along with four of its departments — human services/social services, public health, the sheriff’s office, and water — earned the North Carolina Department of Labor’s Gold Award for workplace safety.
- The Gold Award recognizes organizations that recorded no workplace fatalities during the calendar year and maintained a days away, restricted or transferred rate at least 50% below the average for their industry group.
- Union County has earned the award for 11 consecutive years, while Union County Water has earned it for seven consecutive years.
- Director of Security Risk Management Jeff Morgan credited the county’s safety team — Risk and Safety Manager Mike Farrar and safety officers Jayme Hargett and Hayden Hunter — with identifying risks and promoting a proactive safety culture across departments.
OSHA Investigates Electrocution of Construction Worker
- A construction worker was fatally electrocuted on Aug. 17 while working at Norristown Area High School in West Norriton, Penn., according to Montgomery County Coroner Dr. Janine Darby, who ruled the death accidental.
- The Occupational Safety and Health Administration responded to the scene, and Norristown Area School District Superintendent Dorrell Green said OSHA cleared the site to resume operations while the incident remains under investigation.
- The electrocution occurred amid an ongoing overhaul of the school’s circa-1973 main facility. Green confirmed the incident did not involve a district employee or student.
- Douglas George, president and CEO of Reading-based contractor ER Stuebner Inc., said Haas was not employed by or subcontracted through his company, noting ER Stuebner has not yet begun its portion of the construction work at the site.